Doesn’t Matter Who Wins the K Race; We’re All the Same

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Stupid and smart are measured in results. Nothing else counts.

As I mentioned earlier, I care. So I will actually offer some constructive criticism. Here is what I imagine when I see the words you wrote above. I imagine that I have accidentally stumbled across the Instagram page for a failed salesmen who is trying to re-cast himself as a motivational speaker. Under his screen name, where his bio info should be, is the following: "Student ~ Teacher ~ Speaker ~ Listener - Thinker." His latest post is a posed picture of the guy, whose name is Ryan, standing on stage with a wrap-around microphone on, pretending to speak to an audience. Behind him is a screen on which is displayed an oversize image of the wannabe-motivational speaker as he appears at that moment on stage, and this creates a kind of hall-of-mirrors, infinite douchebag effect. His loud checked shirt is open one too many buttons. And while he thinks his comically disheveled hair and two-day beard create the image of a man who is too hard at work to worry about appearances, they actually just betray his all-consuming cocaine addiction. His eyes are sunken and dull, and his smile is hollow. At the bottom of the post, superimposed over the picture, are the following words, in all-caps bold Helvetica: "Stupid and smart are measured in results. Nothing else counts."

Do better.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

As I mentioned earlier, I care. So I will actually offer some constructive criticism. Here is what I imagine when I see the words you wrote above. I imagine that I have accidentally stumbled across the Instagram page for a failed salesmen who is trying to re-cast himself as a motivational speaker. Under his screen name, where his bio info should be, is the following: "Student ~ Teacher ~ Speaker ~ Listener - Thinker." His latest post is a posed picture of the guy, whose name is Ryan, standing on stage with a wrap-around microphone on, pretending to speak to an audience. Behind him is a screen on which is displayed an oversize image of the wannabe-motivational speaker as he appears at that moment on stage, and this creates a kind of hall-of-mirrors, infinite douchebag effect. His loud checked shirt is open one too many buttons. And while he thinks his comically disheveled hair and two-day beard create the image of a man who is too hard at work to worry about appearances, they actually just betray his all-consuming cocaine addiction. His eyes are sunken and dull, and his smile is hollow. At the bottom of the post, superimposed over the picture, are the following words, in all-caps bold Helvetica: "Stupid and smart are measured in results. Nothing else counts."

Do better.

Damn. You paint exactly the image I had, except that I imagined his shirt open two too many buttons and you could see that he hadn't been able to get the yolk-and-grease stain off the shirt from the breakfast he ate at a dive three blocks from the hotel because the hotel breakfast was too expensive.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Damn. You paint exactly the image I had, except that I imagined his shirt open two too many buttons and you could see that he hadn't been able to get the yolk-and-grease stain off the shirt from the breakfast he ate at a dive three blocks from the hotel because the hotel breakfast was too expensive.

You guys are harsh.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

As I mentioned earlier, I care. So I will actually offer some constructive criticism. Here is what I imagine when I see the words you wrote above. I imagine that I have accidentally stumbled across the Instagram page for a failed salesmen who is trying to re-cast himself as a motivational speaker. Under his screen name, where his bio info should be, is the following: "Student ~ Teacher ~ Speaker ~ Listener - Thinker." His latest post is a posed picture of the guy, whose name is Ryan, standing on stage with a wrap-around microphone on, pretending to speak to an audience. Behind him is a screen on which is displayed an oversize image of the wannabe-motivational speaker as he appears at that moment on stage, and this creates a kind of hall-of-mirrors, infinite douchebag effect. His loud checked shirt is open one too many buttons. And while he thinks his comically disheveled hair and two-day beard create the image of a man who is too hard at work to worry about appearances, they actually just betray his all-consuming cocaine addiction. His eyes are sunken and dull, and his smile is hollow. At the bottom of the post, superimposed over the picture, are the following words, in all-caps bold Helvetica: "Stupid and smart are measured in results. Nothing else counts."

Do better.

You are just bitter because sebby gets better results than you- you both get paid the exact same for your Political Lawyer chatting posts, but sebby rings the cash register more!

No offense.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

You are just bitter because sebby gets better results than you

Surely because of all the opposition to his posts.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

As I mentioned earlier, I care. So I will actually offer some constructive criticism. Here is what I imagine when I see the words you wrote above. I imagine that I have accidentally stumbled across the Instagram page for a failed salesmen who is trying to re-cast himself as a motivational speaker. Under his screen name, where his bio info should be, is the following: "Student ~ Teacher ~ Speaker ~ Listener - Thinker." His latest post is a posed picture of the guy, whose name is Ryan, standing on stage with a wrap-around microphone on, pretending to speak to an audience. Behind him is a screen on which is displayed an oversize image of the wannabe-motivational speaker as he appears at that moment on stage, and this creates a kind of hall-of-mirrors, infinite douchebag effect. His loud checked shirt is open one too many buttons. And while he thinks his comically disheveled hair and two-day beard create the image of a man who is too hard at work to worry about appearances, they actually just betray his all-consuming cocaine addiction. His eyes are sunken and dull, and his smile is hollow. At the bottom of the post, superimposed over the picture, are the following words, in all-caps bold Helvetica: "Stupid and smart are measured in results. Nothing else counts."

Do better.

How is success measured in politics?

So if one succeeds by playing to the dumb, is he dumb? On the other hand, if one fancies himself smart but fails to connect and so loses to his opponent who plays to the dumb, is he still smart?

Try this. You’ve two options:

1. You get lots of what you want, but people don’t respect your intellect;
2. You get the satisfaction of having others tell you you’re smart, but you don’t get the material success you want.

Which would you pick?

Stated otherwise, are you the kind of person who values most what others think of their abilities? Because that’s how you seem to measure “smart.” And that is a valid measurement. But it’s also an insecure measurement.

Smart as you measure it is cheap. Millions of people shake their heads every month and wonder why they can’t pay the mortgage with it.

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

How is success measured in politics?

So if one succeeds by playing to the dumb, is he dumb? On the other hand, if one fancies himself smart but fails to connect and so loses to his opponent who plays to the dumb, is he still smart?

Try this. You’ve two options:

1. You get lots of what you want, but people don’t respect your intellect;
2. You get the satisfaction of having others tell you you’re smart, but you don’t get the material success you want.

Which would you pick?

Stated otherwise, are you the kind of person who values most what others think of their abilities? Because that’s how you seem to measure “smart.” And that is a valid measurement. But it’s also an insecure measurement.

Smart as you measure it is cheap. Millions of people shake their heads every month and wonder why they can’t pay the mortgage with it.

The fact that you seem to think the point of my post was to dispute the substance of your statement about how to "measure smart" only further strengthens my belief that you are completely phoning it in.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

The fact that you seem to think the point of my post was to dispute the substance of your statement about how to "measure smart" only further strengthens my belief that you are completely phoning it in.

I didn't want to reply to the point you intended to make. I found it dull. What was I going to do? Post a similar one about you? That's tiring.

OTOH, I was legitimately interested in how people define "smart." It's a deep question I ponder from time to time as, like KRS One, I think very deeply.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

OTOH, I was legitimately interested in how people define "smart." It's a deep question I ponder from time to time as, like KRS One, I think very deeply.

So you were trying to say that people who make money are "smart"?

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

So you were trying to say that people who make money are "smart"?

No. I was trying to determine whether succeeding in getting what you want, which could be any number of things, is a form of intelligence that many people ignore.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

No. I was trying to determine whether succeeding in getting what you want, which could be any number of things, is a form of intelligence that many people ignore.

I'm sorry, but that's inane. Succeeding in getting what you want is surely the confluence of a great many things, some of which are forms of intelligence. To take one public example, Donald Trump was born to wealth. If you think that's what he wants, does that make him smart? If he had had a twin brother whose life differed only in wanting passionately to end malaria, does that make him smarter than his brother?

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

No. I was trying to determine whether succeeding in getting what you want, which could be any number of things, is a form of intelligence that many people ignore.

Hey, this reminds me of Sebby arguing that Sarah Pallin was really really intelligent! Remember that! Good times!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

I'm seeing a lot of people on Twitter who are skeptical that Sondland did not know why Trump wanted Burisma investigated, but it seems plausible to me.

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I didn't want to reply to the point you intended to make. I found it dull. What was I going to do? Post a similar one about you? That's tiring.

OTOH, I was legitimately interested in how people define "smart." It's a deep question I ponder from time to time as, like KRS One, I think very deeply.

Ha ha! You're just so very precious with your post hoc rationalizations. Replying to what I was actually saying was just TOOO BOOOORRRRRING for you! So instead, you decided to deliver a lengthy unhinged rant replying to something I DIDN'T say? Brilliant.

O.K., let's go back to that post. "Stated otherwise, are you the kind of person who values most what others think of their abilities? Because that’s how you seem to measure 'smart'.” Um, what?!?? What gigantic gaping orifice of yours did you pull that out of? I said absolutely nothing about how I "measure smart" and, as you acknowledged, my post did not address the substance of that issue at all. Was this supposed to be some sort of Jedi mind trick?

You: You seem to measure smart by putting value on what others think of your abilities.
Me: I seem to measure smart by putting value on what others think of my abilities.
You: Your measurement betrays insecurity.
Me: My measurement betrays insecurity.
You: These are not the droids you are looking for . . . .

Or were you just having a disassociative episode, responding to the voices in your head? I'm having increasing concerns about your cognitive abilities. Because, once again, the "point" that you wanted to rebut was one that neither I nor anyone else here was making.

Or maybe you thought your unbelievably obvious little epiphany about how some people think it is more important to get votes or money than to be book smart was so fucking brilliant that you just needed another chance to say it again, as it were some Magical Gem of Wisdom. Which is fine, but that is not going to stop me from pointing out that, when you do that, you come off like some half-wit douchebag with a motivational social media page, peddling the most basic and obvious conclusions as if they were rare diamonds. The same type of people who have Instagram pages devoted to repeatedly preaching about how important #LOVE is, and how #BLESSED we are every day to fill our thoughts with #GRATITUDE.

Do better.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

Ha ha! You're just so very precious with your post hoc rationalizations. Replying to what I was actually saying was just TOOO BOOOORRRRRING for you! So instead, you decided to deliver a lengthy unhinged rant replying to something I DIDN'T say? Brilliant.

O.K., let's go back to that post. "Stated otherwise, are you the kind of person who values most what others think of their abilities? Because that’s how you seem to measure 'smart'.” Um, what?!?? What gigantic gaping orifice of yours did you pull that out of? I said absolutely nothing about how I "measure smart" and, as you acknowledged, my post did not address the substance of that issue at all. Was this supposed to be some sort of Jedi mind trick?

You: You seem to measure smart by putting value on what others think of your abilities.
Me: I seem to measure smart by putting value on what others think of my abilities.
You: Your measurement betrays insecurity.
Me: My measurement betrays insecurity.
You: These are not the droids you are looking for . . . .

Or were you just having a disassociative episode, responding to the voices in your head? I'm having increasing concerns about your cognitive abilities. Because, once again, the "point" that you wanted to rebut was one that neither I nor anyone else here was making.

Or maybe you thought your unbelievably obvious little epiphany about how some people think it is more important to get votes or money than to be book smart was so fucking brilliant that you just needed another chance to say it again, as it were some Magical Gem of Wisdom. Which is fine, but that is not going to stop me from pointing out that, when you do that, you come off like some half-wit douchebag with a motivational social media page, peddling the most basic and obvious conclusions as if they were rare diamonds. The same type of people who have Instagram pages devoted to repeatedly preaching about how important #LOVE is, and how #BLESSED we are every day to fill our thoughts with #GRATITUDE.

Do better.

I am actually bored by you. I was being honest.

With that "smart" comment, I was citing the fact that I think you're on par with an Instagram influencer with a coke addiction.

I have a distant relative who sells silly self-help and coaching stuff to corporations. This person is on every form of social media. My mother showed me some of this person's work and we had a great laugh about the person. "How tacky," "how embarrassing," "why is em dressed like Steve Jobs in a green phase?"

Anyway, then it occurred to me. This person might be smarter than me. Via corporate slogans and associated gibberish, this person rakes in cash and travels the world.

I've since thought, "Fuck, this is like the 'If I had 10 divisions of those men...' speech given by Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (Hi, Ty!)."* I'm sitting here assuming I'm smart, when I've failed to realize the transactional nature of life.

You can make fun of an influencer, but given a lot of those influencers lead lives much better than yours, and many have reached a realization you and I never will because of our own concern with how others' would perceive us (among other reasons), can you or I judge them? Isn't it more accurate to say that we're pretty much on par with a gross guy selling self-help coaching, but we just don't realize it?

If I was forced to choose between being you or me, on one hand, or being some odious self-help personality on the other, what makes you think I'd choose you or me? Because we're "smart" enough to make fun of that snake oil salesman?

____
* Obviously, on a much lighter level. I do not think this distant relative is capable of war crimes. But maybe? Who knows... I'm always surprised these days.